http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8CaC4RMwsM

thedailywhat:

Reel Wisdom: Lessons from 40 films in 7 minutes.

Derek Stettler says: “I made this video because I love films and I think there is great wisdom inherent in the film medium. This video represents some of the best wisdom from films, edited together as a single coherent piece of advice on everything from life, death, and purpose, to anger, regret, and destiny.”

Phantom of the Floppera

Bach’s Toccata  & Fugue played on four floppy disk drives is surprisingly well-done and decidedly geeky:

People have made floppy drives sing before, but this is my personal take on it.

Features two 3 ½" drives and two 5 ¼" drives connected to a PIC18f14k50 microcontroller. It interfaces to any MIDI source via MIDI over USB. Straight MIDI would also be possible with an additional small circuit and some minor firmware changes. This initial version can respond to all 128 MIDI notes, and pitch bends +/- 2 semitones.

As it can produce only four simultaneous notes, and each drive has a different range and tonal characteristics, best results are obtained by arranging compositions by hand. However, it features two modes of operation: in one mode, MIDI channels 1 through 4 are played directly on floppy drives 1 through 4. In the other mode, all 16 MIDI channels are read, and notes are “intelligently” divvied out on a first-come, first-serve basis. “Note stealing” ensures that melody lines sound, but chords are often cut short. One or the other produces acceptable results for many unmodified MIDI files straight out of your favorite media player.

[via BoingBoing]

Vacuum has friction after all

Vacuum has friction after all

The Black Keys made an awesome movie trailer instead of a conventional video for their single Howlin’ For You:

Tricia Helfer, the hottest Cylon this side of Kobol, stars alongside Sean Patrick Flannery, Corbin Bernsen, Diora Baird, Christian Serratos, Sir Todd Bridges, Shaun White, oh, and some random dudes named Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach, in Chris Marrs Piliero’s trailer for The Black Keys’ Howlin’ For You.

[via The Daily What]